WHAT DOES A SUNDAY SERVICE LOOK LIKE?

  • Every Sunday our community gathers for dynamic worship and a Biblical message that’s relevant to life today. Click here for more about what to expect if you visit.

  • You can also check out any of our services online. Our sites outside of Phoenix currently live stream our service.

WHEN DO THE SERVICES START?

  • Our services start at 10:30am at all of our sites in their local time zone

DO YOU HAVE TO BE A STUDENT TO COME TO CHURCH?

  • No, in fact, we have people of all ages and stages of life who attend our services. For families, we also have Hope Kids, our children’s ministry happening every Sunday.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT HOPE IS A “COLLEGIATE-FOCUSED CHURCH”?

  • First off, we believe that college students can change the world and are called to be leaders in the local church.

  • We live in a culture where 70% of high school graduates walk away from their faith within one year and 49% of Christian millennials think it's morally wrong to share their faith. We believe there’s a spiritual battle over the 21 million college students in our nation. The college campus is one of the most strategic mission fields in the world - right in our own backyard. In fact, 95% of people who become Christians do so before the age of 25.

  • We’ve discovered the best people to reach college students are college students, so we're a local church that reaches college students with the Gospel so that they’re equipped to change the world and fulfill their God-given destiny. College students can lead in the local church, they just need to be developed.

  • Since our church is focused on reaching college students, our financial model is different from most community churches. Many college students don't have their own income, so every Sunday we remind students that they shouldn’t give their parents' money or scholarship money in tithes or offerings. Additionally, all of our staff members develop financial partnership teams with individuals outside of our church, just like a missionary would, so that they're able to do full-time ministry.

  • If you’d like to learn more about our staff and what we do, we invite you to start by exploring our website!

IS HOPE PART OF A DENOMINATION?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “SURRENDER YOUR LIFE TO JESUS”?

  • In Mark 1:15 Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

  • The Gospel Is The Good News that God became man in Jesus Christ, He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died in our place. On the third day, He rose from the dead, proving that He is the Son of God and offering the gift of salvation for all who repent and believe the Gospel.

  • Repent means to change direction and to change our mind. We change direction by turning from sin, self and life lived on our own terms to follow Jesus; and we change our minds by agreeing with the Bible that Jesus is Lord and we are not.

  • To believe in the Gospel means to put the full weight of our trust in Jesus’s death and resurrection alone for our salvation as the only way to be forgiven. This requires total surrender.

  • In summary, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good, He came to die for our sins and make spiritually dead people come alive. There’s nothing we could ever do to make ourselves spiritually alive and go to heaven, we all need Jesus.

  • If you want to know more about what the gospel means, check out “The Gospel Story” on our website.

WHY DOES HOPE HOST OTHER EVENTS BESIDES CHURCH?

  • A recent statistic from the Barna Group says that 84% of non-christians in their late teens and 20’s have a negative impression of Christianity. Whether we want to admit it or not, there's a stigma about Christians that they're boring, irrelevant and don’t have fun. To break that stigma, we host comedy shows, fashion shows, and adventure weekends where anyone can come have fun without regrets.

  • Our premier event is Survivor Weekend where students form tribes or teams based on their campus and their major. These tribes all travel to Northern Arizona over Labor Day Weekend for 3 days of music, camping and competition. Survivor Weekend is hosted by our church, but it’s not a “church camp”. It’s a three day adventure weekend open to any college students or young adults who want to connect with others and make friends at the beginning of the school year.

  • You can find info about our upcoming events on the “Events” tab on our website.

DOES YOUR CHURCH HAVE FORMAL MEMBERSHIP?

  • Yes, 1 Corinthians 12:18 says, “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” So we believe God calls all those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus to be part of a local church.

  • We have a three-part video series called Growth Track that tells more about our church movement and how to become a member. You can attend Growth Track in person at any of our sites or watch the videos online.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN A STUDENT HAS A CLASS OR PROJECT THAT CONFLICTS WITH A CHURCH COMMITMENT?

  • We let all of our student members know that since they’re in college to pursue a degree, we encourage them to prioritize their studies and be successful in their academics. As it says in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.”

  • We have a number of upperclass students and graduates who are part of our church movement so if students are challenged in a specific subject or class, there’s a good chance there’s someone in our church who can help them.

  • We’re proud of our student leaders in Hope Church who have an average GPA of 3.3.

HOW CAN PARENTS AND FAMILY OF STUDENTS INVOLVED WITH HOPE CHURCH STAY CONNECTED AND UPDATED?